general decided to defect to join the uprising against the sir ran president assad. the head of the military police appeared in a video aired on middle eastern news saying he's joining, quote, the people's revolution because, quoting again, the army derailed from the basic mission of protecting people and has become a gang for killing and destruction. this could be one of the most senior military defections in the nearly two-year long civil war that activists say killed more than 40,000 people but it has not stopped the syrian government from attacking its own men, women, and children. a human rights group reports the regime shelled a bakery and killed 20 people, including at least eight children. we cannot independently confirm that. we're joined by a journalist who specializes on middle east affairs. this is a significant defection, lisa, and it appears from the you don't see that you have bashar al-assad losing his grip on power. >> absolutely. this is one of the most significant diminishing of power for the bashar al-assad regime. we've seen the military be a full support